Mai Soliman: “I would definitely love that rematch with Mizuki.”

Mai Soliman: “I would definitely love that rematch with Mizuki.”

Four years ago, the Egyptian-born Mai Soliman had a dream that one day she would be fighting in front of the Pyramids of Giza. It is no longer just a dream. Last month, Soliman made it a reality when she challenged Mizuki Hiruta for her WBO world super-flyweight title.

“It was amazing,” Soliman told me over Zoom, just a few days removed from the biggest night of her boxing career to date. “It was unreal. It was one of those things that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

“There were two moments that stand out. One was when I was walking into the venue with my team to go to the changing rooms, and seeing the pyramids, and it was exactly how it felt when I had that dream. The second moment for me was when I was getting ready to go out, standing in position with the TV guys, and I turned around and saw the pyramids. I just had to take it all in. It was as though I was screenshotting that moment in my head.”

But it was more than just a moment in time for Soliman. Now residing in Australia, this wasn’t just a memorable vacation for her. A trip abroad just for the payday. The odds were seemingly stacked against Soliman. The undefeated Japanese superstar is a genuine pound-for-pound fighter and was widely expected to overcome her latest challenger with little discomfort. But Soliman saw it differently. “Going into the fight, I knew the odds would definitely be against me,” Soliman says. “There was no doubt about that. A lot of people would have thought this was just another fight for her. They thought she would stop this, Mai Soliman. That wasn’t the case. I was there to win. I was there to take her belts.”

The 28-year-old might have lost a hard-fought ten-round decision to Hiruta, but it was anything but easy for the undefeated champion. “It was a fight that was at the very top level, and I think I proved who I really am. Everyone could see that I exposed her in that ten-round fight.”

Soliman was competitive throughout the ten rounds. The challenger had moments in every single round. And one very big moment that very nearly caused a seismic upset. “In the 8th round, I thought I was going to knock her out,” Soliman told me. “I was very close to doing it until she started to hold. She started grabbing me. She knew she was pretty much out. I rocked her pretty bad. The only way to get out of it was to hold on.”

Hiruta retained her WBO title courtesy of an unanimous decision. Scores of 98-92, 98-92, and 99-91 were somewhat harsh on Soliman, and they don’t really tell the story of the fight. “I thought the scorecards were pretty terrible, to be honest. I think it was way closer than that. I spoke to Gennadiy Golovkin after the fight, and he said I like what you do and I reminded him of his younger self. He also thought it was way closer, and he thought I edged it. It was a 50/50 fight. A lot of people were scratching their heads about the scorecards and the result.”

Mai Soliman was still in Egypt, another stunning, spectacular backdrop, enjoying her downtime after her fight with Hiruta. A fight and a performance that proved plenty. Soliman will undoubtedly come again. A performance that showed she was very much at world level. Soliman would like to fight Hiruta again, but she is open to fighting any of the current world super-flyweight champions.

“I am ready to get back in there,” Soliman says. “If anything, this has put even more of a fire in me. I am excited about what’s next and what is coming for me. I don’t see any boring fights. I only see exciting fights. Another title shot could be very soon. The division is not unified at the moment. I would definitely love that rematch with Mizuki. She came up to me after that fight and said I punch hard. Everyone saw that. If it’s not her, there are three other world champions in the division.”     

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing